


Dandelions from an Irishman

by st1ana



Category: The Newsroom (US TV)
Genre: F/M, Post-Canon, after s03
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-18 19:08:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29614074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/st1ana/pseuds/st1ana
Summary: David City - Nebraska, 2021, May, anniversary trip, they decided to take their daughter Charlotte to see the town and to enjoy each other’s company.
Relationships: Will McAvoy/MacKenzie McHale
Comments: 4
Kudos: 4





	Dandelions from an Irishman

Charlie is playing around the backyard, there’s a swing attached to one of the trees. Will and Mac are back in the porch. Mac is resting her head on Will’s shoulder while one of his arms holds her close by the waist.

“Are we really here, Billy?”

“What do you mean?” Will is confused to either the question is philosophical or rhetorical.

“Pinch me, I think I’m dreaming.” Mac seems dreamy with her eyes locked on their daughter.

“Mac...”

“I’m dead serious, I never thought I could be this happy. Have everything, you know?”

“Even after 9 years, you’re still shocked, aren’t you?”

“About what?”

“That I proposed that day.”

“Hell yeah!” She answers energetically, but faces the horizon getting nostalgic. “I was so... depressed. Stupidly sad. I felt like I was losing everything. I already knew I was gonna lose my job. And we had just had that fight. It felt like the end of the road. And then, you made everything okay, somehow. You made me whole in a split second.” Will kisses her hair filling his body with her smell. “So, yeah, I’m still shocked. After our fight that day I thought I was gonna hate you forever.” Will raises his eyebrows. The practical joke thing. He felt terrible about it.

“Oh, c’mon, don’t be so dramatic.”

“Ohhhh, I was pretty pissed at you.” She says widening her eyes and holding his tease.

“Yeah... I know. I mean, you threatened to hit me.” He looks away, happy they got over everything that hurt them.

“Eventually, I would have.”

“But then I kissed you first.” He says tightening his grip around her waist.

“Like I said before: it took you long enough...” Will straightens his eyes smiling and Charlie runs towards them. “Hi, baby girl. what d’you need?”

“I want daddy to put me on his shoulders so I get very tall and I can pick an apple.” Charlotte points to the apple tree where the swing is attached.

“Okay.” Will sighs. MacKenzie laughs and rests her hands on Charlie’s shoulders.

“You sure you can handle this?”

“MacKenzie, I’m her dad. If I say, ‘stop talking’, she will. Besides, she’s 7, she’s practically weightless.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about the time your dad put me up on his shoulders but couldn’t bear it.” Will rolls his eyes, hands on his waist.

“You dropped mom?!!!! D’you get hurt?” Charlie faces Mac, who laughs and calms the kid down.

“No! Thankfully, we were close to a big bed, so dad just dropped me there.”

“Yes... Near a big wide bed where we spent the next 12 hours making lots of-“

“Will!” Mac shushes him and he laughs.

“What?” Charlie breaks their funny gaze in confusion.

“Nothing!” They answer in unison.

“Well, Charlie, in my defense, i just dropped your mom because she wouldn’t stop talking and I couldn’t concentrate.” Will was already kneeling, getting prepared to carry Charlie on his shoulders.

“Which is very classic Mac.” But Gina, Will’s younger sister, arrives at the porch, getting the attention from the family.

“Gina!” Mac approaches her and hugs her sister in law.

“Hi, Mac! I missed you!” Gina says hugging her back.

“Me too!”

“Hey, pumpkin!” She says embracing Charlie. “You gotten so big!”

“Hi, Aunt Gina!” Charlie seems excited by her presence.

“Hi, Gina.” Will greets her with a hug.

“Hey, Will!”

“Alright, so lemme take this girl to pick an apple.” The youngest grabs his dad’s hand and they walk towards the appointed tree. Mac and Gina stay on the porch looking at them. Mac is smiling, her eyes shining, carrying the love of the world.

“So, what you guys have planned for your anniversary tomorrow?”

“Wow, I haven’t actually thought about it. You know, cause of Charlie... We figured we would just take her to have a nice dinner with us and then walk around to show her a bit more of the city.”

“That sounds nice. If you like, I’d be happy to watch over her so you guys can have some privacy.”

“Oh, that’s very nice, Gina. Thanks! I’m just not sure what Will has planned for tomorrow. He can’t stand letting go of her.” They both smile looking at them picking apples.

“I know. Just lemme know, I’ll be next door all day all night.”

“Thanks.” Gina smiles and goes back inside the house. Mac watches her for a second before calling out the kids. “Hey, you two. I’ll start unpacking, alright?” She sees Will saying something to Charlie that makes her nod. They, then, start walking towards Mac.

“We’ll help!” Says Charlie grabbing her mom’s hand before pushing her inside the house. 

They carry the bags upstairs. Charlie goes to the room she frequently uses when they get down to Nebraska, Will’s childhood room. Mac and Will always take the master room.

After his father died, Will couldn’t convince himself to selling he house he grew up in, so he managed to buy his sisters’ and his brother’s parts to keep the house in the family. Now, it is basically their summer house.  
Mac is taking some clothes off her bag when two pairs of high heels Louboutin land on the bed and Will takes a second look.

“Mac, why did you bring two Louboutins? We’re practically in a farm.” Mac frowns.

“What are you talking about? You brought a suit!” She points to the hanging Armani hanged in the closet.

“That’s for if there’s an emergency at work.” Will says stammering.

“Well, then mine Louboutins are as well.” She shrugs taking the victory.

“The most expensive behind the scenes ever.” He mumbles getting into the bathroom to take a shower.

“You’re rich. You can afford it.” Mac teases him, smiling.

The shower is turned on and Mac decides to check in on Charlotte. So, she walks to the other room on the opposite side of hers.

“Hey...” She whispers watching her from the door.

“Hi, mom. Could you help me fold these?”

“Sure, honey.” Mac sits on Will’s old bed and starts helping her daughter fold some shirts and hang some dresses. The girls have some laughs and get some work one with the organization done when Will gets inside the room.

“Which one of my girls wants a ham and pineapple pizza?” Charlie and Mac quickly raise their hands showing him some attention.

“And pleeeaaaase can I have some milkshake?” They both laugh and get ready to go have some dinner.

The three of them have a fun and entertaining night with a lot of riddles and I-spies. When back at home, Charlie convinced Mac to use one of her sleep masks. Will couldn’t be convinced, but he adored how much fun they were having. 

May 3rd - 8th anniversary

Charlotte walks silently down the stairs to meet her father; she knew he’d already be preparing the usual anniversary breakfast. She wanted to help that year.

“Morning, sunshine. What are you doing up so early?” Will picks her up to a very sleepy and long morning hug. 

“Happy anniversary , daddy. I want to help with your breakfast to mom. Can we make a heart with strawberries and fill it with whip cream?” Charlie slowly said, still resting her face on Will’s shoulder and keeping her eyes closed. 

“Sure, kiddo.” He kisses her hair and sits her on the counter. “We just have to be super quiet. Mom has the lightest sleep ever.” Charlie nodded already choosing the ingredients they would use to decorate Mac’s anniversary tray.

When they got to the room Mac was still asleep. They glance at each other, smiling for their victory in surprising her. Will motioned to his daughter to get up on the bed while he opened one of the curtains.

“Good morning, beautiful mother.” Charlie says while snuggling between the sheets with her. Mac stretches her body making a happy sound and already curving a smile on her face. 

“Hello, princess. What time is it?”

“I think around 8. But it’s May 3rd! Happy anniversary!” She excitedly kisses Mac’s cheek and hugs her. 

“Aw! Thank you, my love!” Mac kisses the top of her head and sits straight on bed right in time to see Will smiling like a fool, but proud man. She smiles back. Looking even more fool than her husband.

“Happy 8 years, Mac.” He approaches carefully, putting the tray on her lap and kissing her lips. “They feel like a whole lifetime already.” 

“Happy anniversary, honey. Thank you for the breakfast. It looks amazing! I love you.”

“Love you, too.” Will grabs one of her hands and kisses it. 

“Have you two eaten?” Mac asks before grabbing the cutlery.

“We tried a bit of everything.” Will winks at Charlie.

“Yeap. Checking for poison.” They laugh at her.

They spend the rest of the morning telling stories on bed. At one moment, Charlie says she wants to grow up to be a very intelligent detective. Mac gets happy and Will, a bit worried. Mac explains that the work she used to do as a field reporter was very investigative and her dad is only worried because of what he already felt when she was away, playing detective. Charlie hugs Will, ‘I’m strong as mom, daddy. I will be fine just like she did.’. 

At some point on the afternoon, they got hungry again. Mac decides to make some Mac ‘n Charlie – mac ‘n cheese on their own language – and they all go downstairs to keep her company in the meantime.

It’s just when her mother is very concentrated on her specialty cuisine that Charlie takes Will to the side.

“Daddy, I need to ask you something, without mom.” 

“What happened, sweetheart? Are you okay?” He places both of his hands on her face thinking something might be wrong.

“I am! It’s nothing bad. I just want to ask if I can stay home with Aunt Gina today. I know we always have dinner together on your anniversaries, but she promised she was gonna teach me a new song on the piano. I just can’t wait. But I also don’t want to upset mom, I know how much she loves we being together today.” Will starts to see through the daughter he raised and finds her little plan all over the place.

“So, you made sure everything was in your control, didn’t you, you little bug?” He strengthens his eyes.  
“What are you talking about, daddy?” She puts a very cute face on, faking confusion.

“What am I talking about... Charlotte McAvoy, you don’t fool me. I have been dealing with the original version of you for a very long time.” He says this whispering and looking over his shoulders making sure Mac wasn’t listening.

“Well, it’s in the McHale blood.” She says winking. “Anyways, dad, I want you and mom to have a special night! I know this place means so much to you, just take her where your heart tells you to. I’m gonna make sure she dresses nicely.” She smiles excited and jumps back to the kitchen.

Later, Will is already suited up, waiting on the base of the stairs. Mac finally shows up at the top wearing a short orange dress. The black pair of Louboutin on her feet. 

“Charlie, I told you to dress up, why are you wearing shorts?”

“Because I’m not going.”

“How come?” Mac gets confused. Her eyebrows are very closed together. Charlie loses courage for a second.

“Dad?”

“No, go on... Be my guest.” He says dearly.

“I’m staying here with Aunt Gina. She promised to teach me a new song on the piano, plus we had a great time at dinner last night. I’ll be okay! And you two are going to be fine without me one night. Take that as my anniversary gift to you.” Mac looks at Will, but he shrugs showing Charlie won’t be convinced otherwise. “Plus, I’m a bit tired, I might get cranky and be no fun at all.”

“Okay, I see, I see.” Mac approaches her, hugs, and kisses her head. “Make sure you rest and don’t give a hard time to Gina, okay?” Charlie nods kissing Mac back. “I love you.”

“Love you, too, mom.”

“You’re convincing, kid. You should work for me.” Will jokes kneeling in front of Charlie. She laughs.

“We’ll get into specifics after your dinner, Mr. McAvoy. Pleasure doing business with you.” She gives out her hand and Will shakes it.

“Love you, Charlie.” He says kissing her forehead. “Thanks, Gina. We’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

“Bye! Have fun!” Gina waves standing next to Charlie.

“B-bye, you two!” Says Mac before taking a notch down to speak to Will. “Tomorrow? Wow. Suddenly, I got extremely excited about tonight.”

Will drives them to Lincoln, capital of Nebraska to take Mac to one of his favorite places ever: Carmela’s Bistro. The first time he ever tasted wine was there. He felt like it was a special place with an endearing atmosphere.

He was doing his best to make her laugh that night. He loved that. They shared a bottle of wine to celebrate and because of their wedding anniversary, the chef made a special tasting menu, with a small version of their best dishes.

“What are you thinking about?” Will asks, bringing Mac back from her thoughts.

“Work. I’m not very happy about a story Neal brought to me. I’m feeling his source is involved with governmental issues.”

“What’s with that kid? He’s got a Pippi Longstocking complex I am not a fan.”

“You lie, McAvoy. You’re always the first one to encourage him.” 

“That’s not the point. What’s the story about?” He couldn’t disagree, that was entirely true. He and Neal had developed a great and close friendship over the years.

“A congressman from Georgia and some money laundering.” Mac makes that face when she’s thinking hard about something.

“And why do you feel like the source is crooked?”

“The way Neal presented the story to me and asked permission to pursue it... It seemed like revenge. I’m not sure why I feel this way.” She says moving her head in denial. “He said something about the congressman personal information going public within the enterprise’s business. Which he had already spoken about, assuring he wasn’t involved, offering his bank account records for the government to check, if needed.”

“Is he a republican?” Will asks before sipping his wine.

“Does it matter?”

“Maybe.” They sigh. “Why would Neal bring the story to you?”

“Jim already knows about it, but for some reason Neal loves going up to my office to get my opinion on stories.”

“Well, I do get him. Even though it’s been 8 years, you are and always will be the best EP New York has ever seen.” She smiles.

“Yeah, I miss that sometimes, you know... Especially, being able to whisper in your ears every night.”

“I kinda miss that, too.” Mac bites her lips holding a huge smile back. She stretches herself to get closer to Will.

“No need to ask me twice.” She whispers right in his ear. Will laughs and turns his face to give her a quick kiss. She sits back on her chair but doesn’t stop looking at him.

“I don’t miss the yelling, though.”

“Well, you knew that came with the package when you married me.” Mac says pointing to her wedding ring.

“Yeah, don’t tell me! We now have a mini version of you. You created a monster!”

“What do you mean?!”

“I mean you and me? Driving to Lincoln? By ourselves? You in Louboutins and me in a suit? All a masters plan orchestrated by your daughter.”

“You two tricked me!” Mac seems amusingly surprised.

“No, no, no, no, no! SHE did! I just obeyed like I always do. I had no opinion whatsoever on the matter.” She takes one of her hands to her chest and just smiles, in silence, holding a laugh back. “What?”

“I’m kind of proud of her.”

“Yeah, no kidding. She could wrap anyone around her little finger just like you do.” She finally laughs enjoying the thought that Charlie annoys Will as much as she does, which makes his love even bigger and stronger.

They finish the dinner in between laughs, just the way they love to be. On their way out, Will is approached by a couple. 

“You’re Will McAvoy, right? From News Night?”

“Yeap, that is him.” Mac opens a big smile and pats her husband on the back. “Go on, the picture is for free today.” Will turns his annoyed face to her, who chuckles. The man takes out his phone and asks if Mac can snap the picture for them.

“Thank you both! Will, I admire your work very much.”

“Well, thank you, it’s all because of this lady right here.” He states with one of his hands on Mac’s back.

“Oh, stop. He’s that brilliant.” They all smile, and the couple goes inside the bistro they just left. 

Will drives them back and when arriving in David City again, they drive past the public library.

“You know, I spent most of my nights here. My house used to be a nightmare, so I’d just come to the library and read until I fell asleep on the floor.” Mac’s eyes are locked on the building.

“Is there a secret door?” She asks finally facing him.

“Of course, there is.”

“Oh, please take me in there! I wanna see it.”

“It’s just a public library, Mac.”

“It’s your public library!” She smiles teasing him. “Please?” She makes the word last longer.

“Alright. Hopefully, the back door still exists.” He gave in, knowing he wouldn’t be able to talk her out of it. He parks right in front of building and grabs Mac’s hand taking her around the building. With a little push the door squeaks open. Will starts telling her some stories about how he felt connected to everything he loved there.

“It was sitting here I knew I wanted to be a prosecutor. It was a way to show the truth about everything to everyone.” He pointed to a table on the very corner of the library, almost hidden by one the shelves.

“I can see that.” Mac is taking the whole place in. She feels his presence as a teenager, trying to figure out what to do with life.

“I’m happy you annoyed me into bringing you here.” He’s smiling. Looking around with a very happy expression.

“Oh, yeah?” Mac gets closer to him and rests her hands on his chest, caressing his suit and admiring his nostalgic face. He places his hands on her arms.

“Yes. I think most of the things I learnt how to be passioned about in here, we now share. The truth, journalism, justice, fairness, research...” Will feels Mac having chills while smiling. She looks down. “What is it, honey?”

“I have no idea who you were back then, but I have a strong feeling that I would’ve been in love with him too.” She winks. Will pulls her close for a slow kiss. He places his arms around her, hugging Mac like she could disappear any second. Mac stretches her body so she can wrap her arms around his neck. Will feels her soft touch and smiles while still locked on her lips. He reluctantly breaks the kiss and rests his forehead on hers. Mac still has her eyes closed, enjoying the amount of life his love gives her.

“C’mon.” Will whispers and grabs her hand, leading her trough some of the shelves. They arrive at letter F in authors. Silently, Will looks for a book still holding her hand. She observes him when he takes a very old book from the shelf. He carefully opens it and flips through some pages, as if looking for something specific. It was The French Lieutenant's Woman by John Fowles. When he finally stops, Mac sees an old dry dandelion flower emerging from the book on his hand. “I used to read this book every year. I absolutely loved how deeply philosophical yet romantic it was. Before moving to New York, I came here to read my favorite quotes one last time, I made some wishes for the future to a dandelion and left it here. I guess it worked.” He hands the dandelion to Mac. She’s quiet, smiling while watching him clear his throat to read the book out loud.

"He knew the world and its absurdities as only an intelligent Irishman can; which is to say that where his knowledge or memory failed him, his imagination was always ready to fill the gap." The minute he read it her smile widened even more. “Not in a million years I imagined being this lucky, Mac. Like you said, having everything.” He closes the book and puts it back right before putting a strand of Mac’s hair behind her ear.

“I’m so emotional, Will, I might not be able to stop once I start crying.” He chuckles kissing her forehead. “Can I keep the flower?”

“It’s yours. My sincere wishes reunited with my fantastic reality.” Mac smiles so wide her eyes are practically closed. She puts her arms around his neck again, Will holds her close.

“I once told someone that you were an extraordinary man with a heart the size of a Range Rover, but right now I think it’s even bigger than that.” They laugh and Will places kisses on her smiling lips. “Happy anniversary, Billy.”

“Happy anniversary, Mac.”

**Author's Note:**

> I edited some instagram posts to go with the story. I can't post them here, but feel free to ask me on twitter @ritshayworth. thank you for reading!


End file.
